


Do I Wanna Know

by jamesilver



Series: A Drarry Playlist [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Auror Partners, Bottom Draco Malfoy, Drunkenness, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, Fucking, I Love You, M/M, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, No Strings Attached, Pining Draco Malfoy, Pining Harry Potter, Smut, nothing like a near death experience to make you say i love you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 16:58:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13415622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesilver/pseuds/jamesilver
Summary: They had been circling for so long now Draco couldn’t even remember how it had all started. All he knew is that here they were now, acting like they barely could tolerate each other at work before leaving early so they could fuck.The arrangement was simple. They just fucked. No strings, no monogamy, no feelings. No telling anyone, either.Harry was like an addiction he couldn’t rid himself of.





	Do I Wanna Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dracohasmycat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracohasmycat/gifts).



> This fic is part of a series that takes songs and creates inspired fics using parts of the song. This specific fic was based off of The Arctic Monkeys’ Do I Wanna Know and I do not own the rights to any lyrics I possibly used, or any of the characters used. I am not making any money off of this whatsoever so please don't sue me.
> 
> Also, shout out to @dracohasmycat for the song rec!!!! 
> 
> Playlist will be linked in end notes.

They had been circling for so long now Draco couldn’t even remember how it had all started. All he knew is that here they were now, acting like they barely could tolerate each other at work before leaving early so they could fuck.

And Draco’s heart felt like it was being torn out of his body. He felt like screaming at himself. ‘Have you no idea that you’re in deep?’ And, yet, here he was crawling back to Potter each time.

He was keeping far too many secrets.

All this was running through his mind in the span of time that Harry was giving him a hickey, pressing him against the wall. If Draco wasn’t into it as much right now, Harry didn’t seem to notice.

The arrangement was simple. They just fucked. No strings, no monogamy, no feelings. No telling anyone, either.

Now, Draco was lying on his back as he thought about this. Arching into Harry’s touch as he wondered if he should really still be doing this? He felt like Harry’s dirty secret; something he was ashamed of. Maybe he should just call things off. Harry clearly didn’t feel the same way about Draco that Draco felt about him.

That was the thought that really resonated in Draco’s mind as he lay there after, Harry flopped onto the bed beside him, both breathing hard. He had to admit, the shag was always good. And it was what kept Draco crawling back each time.

He turned to look at Harry, who had one arm thrown up over the pillow was laying on. He truly was gorgeous. Draco’s eyes roamed down Harry’s torso, taking in the muscles and the scars— Draco could name how he got each one. Like that ghastly, gruesome thing above his left hip was from when he was being stupid and was attacked by an unidentified magical creature. And that nick just under his right rib was from when he was being stupid and had walked into a sharp object, yelling so loud that he gave them away. Being Harry Potter’s auror partner was honestly a mess. He was constantly worrying about saving the man’s life. The press and magical community at large would never forgive Draco Malfoy if he let Golden Boy die in the field. Not like they liked him that much anyway.

The more Draco thought about it, the more he was unsure if he even wanted to know exactly what Harry’s feelings were about him. Sure, there was always the chance that this feeling was able to flow both ways, but there was also a chance Harry would break his heart.

After a moment to breathe, Harry got up, putting on his clothes with barely a word. Every time, Draco was sad to see him go. Every time, part of him would hope that Harry would stay.

But he never did. Instead, Draco would go back to his flat and he would get drunk and avoid the temptation of flooing Harry. It just wasn’t fair. Harry was like an addiction he couldn’t rid himself of.

__________

Harry didn’t even know if he wanted to know if Draco felt the same way about him. It was a confusing feeling and it didn’t make any sort of sense, but it was real. Just watching the way Draco walked, the way he moved, made Harry eager for every Thursday night fuck. And, if that was all he was going to get, then he would take it.

But, today was Tuesday. He would have to wait for two more days and it made him pissy. He had dreamt about Draco nearly every night this week. The arrangement may have been that they could both still fuck other people but Harry was too busy being Draco’s to fall for someone new.

Harry felt like he was going to explode from the maddening way Draco was just _there_. And, at this point, he was sure it wasn’t all lust. But lust was definitely a part of it. Draco stood up from his desk, walking to get something. Harry didn’t know what. He didn’t care. He just wanted to watch the way Draco’s arse moved as he walked.

Putting his head in his hands, Harry couldn’t believe it. He was in love with his auror partner. The only question was: did he have the guts?

Just before lunch, Harry was hovering around Draco’s desk. He was going to do it— he was going to maybe ask Draco out or something.

“What do you want, Potter?”

Or not. He could always walk away. He obviously wasn’t wanted here.

But he had to know.

“Free tonight, Malfoy?”

Draco’s head didn’t move as he looked up with his eyes, strictly unimpressed. “No.” But, seemingly curious, he added, “Why?”

“Just wondering if you maybe...wanted to get drinks or...something else.”

Draco was already back at his paperwork. “Try again Thursday, Potter.”

Harry blew out a sigh as he walked back to his own desk. So that didn’t work. He was clearly being shot down my Draco at every turn.

And why, he couldn’t understand. Things between them were electric, tense. Could Draco not feel it?

So Harry went home alone that night.

They had never even been to one another’s flat. In order to avoid feeling like anything was real, they only ever met at cheap hotels. Or in bathrooms. Or closets. Or that one time in a car on a stakeout where they really should have been paying more attention to their case.

Harry poured himself a drink.

Things needed to change. He wanted Draco. He just had to make it known. If Draco didn’t want him, he would call off their arrangement and they would go back to being just auror partners. The thought made Harry’s heart twist and so he downed the fire whiskey, wincing at the harsh taste and its effect on his throat.

He poured himself another.

Maybe he just needed to invite Draco over. Invite Draco out. Do things with him that showed Harry wanted to do more than just fuck. Or, maybe—

Maybe Draco had someone else. Their arrangement allowed for that. Maybe Draco really wasn’t free tonight because he actually has someone else. And he doesn’t want Harry, really, at all. That thought caused the second glass to go ripping down to his stomach.

The glass filled a third time.

One sip in, and Harry decided he should just floo call him. Right now, while he still had the guts, he would floo call Draco and explain to him that he was actually in love with him and that this situation was killing him and he wanted all of Draco or none of him.

Walking over to his fireplace, Harry picked up some floo powder from the jar on the mantel. He held it out for a moment, thinking, before realizing he couldn’t floo call Draco if he wanted to. He didn’t know how.

Putting the powder back, he stumbled off to bed.

__________

Draco couldn’t believe it. Asking him out on a _Tuesday_? Acting like he just couldn’t get enough of Draco despite always keeping him at arms length? What a fucking arse.

Why didn’t he just take Draco’s heart and diffindo it out of his chest? This was just too much. Treat him like a plaything— absolutely fucking not.

Maybe it was the angry drinking but, Draco had half a mind to floo him right now and give Potter a piece of his mind. How dare he?

It just wasn’t fair. He couldn’t toy with Draco’s heart like this. Didn’t he know that Draco wanted him?

In other words, it was a shitty night.

The next morning proved to not be much better, as Potter was waiting eagerly at Draco’s desk for him to get there. “We have a new case,” he sung. Draco shook his head. It was too early for this and last night was shit. He couldn’t do this cheery-happy Harry right now. It was just too much. He needed caffeine first.

Harry was not able to see that Draco needed space, apparently, because he followed him around the Ministry as Draco went to go find tea. And then followed him all the way back, chatting the entire time. Draco didn’t even catch the name of the wizard they were trying to catch. Was it even a wizard? Who knew.

When Draco sat back down at his desk, Harry perched on the edge of it, still excitedly talking and ignoring Draco’s uninterested face.

“So, we’ll both head home and pack a bag and reconvene here in twenty minutes to set off with the Portkey.”

Draco’s head snapped up at that. “What? Where are we going?”

“Did you not...listen to anything I just said?”

“Quite frankly, no. I’ve learned to tune you out.”

Harry laughed at that. Draco loved how he didn’t get offended easily, especially with Dra— Wait no. He’s being mad at Harry right now.

“We’re headed up to Durmstrang. Pack something warm. I’ll fill you in on the rest when we get there. We have less than fifteen minutes until our Portkey leaves. Okay?”

“Fine,” Draco said before they both apparated home.

Not paying too much attention, he threw everything he needed inside a bag and went back to the Ministry to wait for Harry. Who was already there.

When Draco raised an eyebrow, Harry shrugged. “I keep a bag packed. Ever since seventh year when Hermione ran us out in a second and was completely prepared....We would have died without her. I learned my lesson.”

Nodding, Draco said, “Alright. Are we ready to go, then?”

Harry led the way to their Portkey and the next second Draco was standing in the freezing cold of Northern Scandinavia. “Holy shit!” Harry exclaimed from beside him. “What the fuck? It’s March! How is it this cold?!”

Shivering and teeth chattering, Draco pulled out a heavy coat from his bag. “We’re in Northern Scandinavia. What did you expect? It’s about a ten to twelve degree difference this time of year.”

As Harry jumped up and down to warm himself, Draco pulled a coat from Harry’s bag for him before throwing it at him. Then, he took a look around.

The ground was covered in snow, patches of ice sprinkled here and there. Off in the distance, a great castle rose, dark and looming. Draco remembered visiting Durmstrang when he was a child— when Father was considering sending him here instead of to Hogwarts. A rush of relief washed over him. He could have been at this school. Not only would he have been freezing his arse off every day of his waking life, he also never would have met Harry. Looking back at the man now, he felt—

What a stupid fucking idiot. Draco had thrown a coat at him and instead of putting it on, Harry was clutching it close to his chest like a teddy, his fingers red from the cold, tight around it.

“Put the jacket on, you moron,” Draco yelled before Harry set into motion. Hoisting his bag higher on his shoulder, Draco set off in the direction of the school.

It wasn’t exactly a far walk, but they were still about halfway there when the wind began to pick up. And it only became stronger as they walked. Heating charms were doing nothing against the biting wind. Harry was trying to yell instructions at Draco over the wind, but he was only able to catch bits and pieces. “...threat to...stop by...Headmistress...information on...dark...students...threatened...teachers...safety....”

Draco hoped he hadn’t heard right.

Once they were inside the castle’s protective gates, the wind died down enough for Harry to repeat himself. “There have been multiple threats to the school. We need to stop by the Headmistress’ office for information on the dark goings on of the area. So far, students have been threatened as well as teachers, and the Headmistress— Katarina Dahl— is fearing for the safety of the school. Supposedly, the threats are coming as a result of the school’s reputation.”

Draco nodded, taking it all in as they made their way to the door. Standing sentinel were two suits of armor that held out their arms to stop them from entering. A deep, thundering voice issued from the armor on the right. “State your business here.”

“Aurors Potter and Malfoy,” Harry spoke up. “We’re here because of the threats against the school. Headmistress Dahl is expecting us.” Without a word, the arms were moved.

The entrance hall was cold both physically and in its decorations. There were no students to be seen and it was fairly early in the morning, even with the time difference. Draco supposed they were most likely in classes until Harry’s whisper broke the silence of the hall.

“They’ve canceled classes because of the threats. All students must be in their dorms now.”

Draco turned to Harry, putting a hand on his arm. “Do you need to fill me in on just how serious these threats are?”

“They threaten the lives of each student and teacher here. They’re substantial. It’s why we were sent so fast. The threats only started coming in earlier this week.”

It wasn’t difficult to find the Headmistress’ office, even with no one to guide them. Just off the entrance hall was a winding staircase cut out of the rock: partly emerging from the wall in places, partly floating. It led to a large, foreboding door with a small, gold plaque on it. Clearly the Headmistress’ office.

The pair made their way up the steps, using the knocker in the middle of the door to announce their arrival. Upon the first fall of the knocker, the door swung open to reveal a large, heavily windowed room in which a small, pale, woman was pacing at the end of, behind her desk.

“Aurors,” She began rushing towards them. “We are so thankful you have been able to come so quickly. Please, sit.” With a wave of her wand, two lovely chairs drew themselves up to her desk. “I will fill you in on the threats that have been made.”

After a thorough detailing of all 14 threats that had been made on the school since Sunday evening, Draco sat back and let Harry ask the questions. He was good at this and Draco preferred to watch Harry sort through things while Draco was able to think about subtle connections.

“So why do you think these threats are related to the school’s reputation? Why is Durmstrang being targeted specifically?”

“Well,” Headmistress Dahl leaned forward in her chair, hands carefully folded on top of the desk. “After...After the war there was a group that rose up in order to...prevent another Dark Lord. You are aware of this group?”

Harry nodded. “Because of their methods, we track Safeguard as a terrorist organization akin to the Death Eaters themselves.”

Dahl had a faint smile at Harry’s words. Obviously, she was pleased to learn she wasn’t sent aurors biased against her school that would try to tell her she was wrong when she was seriously concerned for her students. “Yes. Well, in the past, they have sent messages to Durmstrang— targeted us because we teach the Dark Arts. It started with letters, then it followed with one of our students being put under the Imperious curse. He wasn’t forced to do anything terrible, but he was meant to ‘showcase’ the ways the Dark Arts can be detrimental to students. They even tried to make us believe another student had casted the Imperious. I’m sure you read the report.” Draco and Harry both gave a nod. “They have, however, been rather silent recently. And then these threats began.”

Harry was looking down, lost in thought as he does when furiously trying to solve a problem. Then, he looked back up. “It makes sense. However, while I don’t see any reason yet why it wouldn’t be Safeguard, I don’t want us to not be open to other possibilities simply because we _want_ it to be them.” Standing, Harry extended his head to the Headmistress. “Thank you for your time and information. We will be patrolling the grounds regularly, as well as keeping watch within the school. For now, we are going to take a walk around. We’ll check in with you later.” They showed themselves out and the Headmistress returned to being agitated in her office.

As they were walking down the steps, Harry cast a muffliato. “So, what did you think?”

“She cares for her students. We can rule her out. However, did you notice the language she used when detailing the threats? She didn’t seem angry, which someone in her position has every right to be. Only scared. Like she knows what whomever is sending these threats is capable of. On top of that, if I were a Headmaster worried about my pupils, I’m not sure I would be holed up in my office pacing the floor. Even if there was no point, I would do something. She’s scared, and not just for her school.”

__________

The auror partners were trudging through the snow on one of their patrols of the grounds. Draco was walking ahead of Harry, stomping and mumbling about snow being cold and wet and ridiculous and how glad he was he hadn’t attended Durmstrang. Wandering at a leisurely pace behind him, Harry wasn’t even keeping an eye out like he was supposed to.

Last night, they had sent in their day report back to the Ministry. They had slept in shifts in the Entrance hall, in order to help protect the school in case of an attack. Harry had also been slacking on his duties last night, simply watching Draco’s calm face as his chest rose and fell with sleepy breaths. He was beautiful, really. And how was it that they had had this arrangement for so long and yet Harry had never seen Draco asleep before? Even on other missions, they had slept in different rooms or something.

It was like it took this mission for Harry to realize all he was missing with Draco. When he had sat up to take over his shift last night and his eyes were blurry and his hair wasn’t perfect....Harry had already known he was in love, but that was something else. That was...remarkable.

Even watching him grumble about the snow ahead of him, Harry was lovestruck. In the past, he had never understood when people would say ‘you’re so cute when you’re angry’ to their partners because anger was never cute to Harry. But, maybe he somewhat understood that now. Frustrated Draco was deliciously cute.

And then the snow began falling. Draco started cursing, kicking snow as he walked, but the tiny flakes found their way onto his shoulders and his hair. As he kicked out again in frustration, his foot hit a hidden patch of ice and his face switched to temporary terror as his arms began flailing. Without thinking, Harry reached out and caught his arm, steadying him.

It was only when Draco turned to him to thank him that Harry saw that a couple of snowflakes had found their way to Draco’s eyelashes, sticking there and making his eyes look like they sparkled. Harry just couldn’t take it anymore. All of this constant wondering. He had to just go for it.

He leaned forward and he kissed Draco, eyes closed and heart in his hand. He was constantly on the cusp of trying to kiss him, and now was the time to let himself do it.

When he pulled back, Draco was staring off into the distance. Harry was too enthralled by his love for Draco that he didn’t notice. Didn’t even see the curse coming as it hit him in the center of his back. The last thing he remembered seeing was the panic on Draco’s face as he pitched forward.

__________

“Noooo!” The scream ripped from Draco’s throat as Harry fell forward. Because Draco was still standing on the ice, Harry’s weight caused him to slip and he fell, watching as another curse clearly intended for him went flying past where his head had previously been— from the other direction.

Wand out, Draco cast a hasty disillusionment charm on them both. Ignoring the hot tears that melted the snowflakes on his face, he began hurling curses and hexes— anything he could think of in both directions, dueling both of the unseen witches or wizards at once. When there seemed to be a pause, he hauled Harry up and made a run for the castle, painfully aware of the footprints he left behind them.

He knew the two— at least— were in hot pursuit as he reached the armor sentinels. Sensing his presence, they crossed their arms over the threshold. Before a word was spoken, a hex hit one of the sentinels from behind Draco, exploding it. Ducking underneath the other arm, Draco ran into the castle.

Inside the entrance hall stood Headmistress Dahl and the majority of the Durmstrang professors, all wands at the ready. Disillusioning himself and Harry, he quickly informed them of what just happened. The mediwitch on campus rushed forward to look at Harry.

In the midst of the chaos, she looked up at Draco and spoke with a thick accent. “He needs to head to St. Mungo’s. The Headmistress’ fireplace is connected to their floo. Go.”

Casting a frantic glance around, Draco knew he would be in trouble if he didn’t stay. There were _children_ here. He shouldn’t sacrifice them for his partner.

Draco tried casting spells on Harry to make him lighter, but the stairs heading up to the Headmistress’ office apparently forbade all magic on them. So, he hauled Harry up the stairs, carrying him the entire way. It took far too long, and Draco could hear pounding on the door below as the professors prepared for the attack.

Inside the office, Draco laid Harry down on the floor carefully. As Harry was set down, he mumbled something in his unconscious state and his eyes rolled. Teary-eyed, Draco gave him a quick kiss on his forehead. “I’ll be right back for you, Harry. I promise.”

Standing, he took the floo powder in his hand and stepped in the fireplace, whisking himself away—back to the Ministry.

In the atrium, it was business as usual. Everything was hushed as people were going about their day. Mid-morning chatter and the like. Draco stepped from the fireplace and began screaming as loud as he could, “Durmstrang is under attack. The students have not been evacuated and their lives are at stake. I repeat, Durmstrang is under attack and the students’ lives are at stake. Send help immediately.”

Without wasting any more time, he turned, taking more floo powder and bringing himself back to Harry.

Stepping out of the fireplace into the office again, Draco was nearly in hysterics. Harry looked pale and near-dead. He should know— he’d seen it before.

Getting both of them into the fireplace was no easy feat. Propping up Harry’s unconscious body, he leaned him against the back before holding onto his hand and saying loudly, “St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.”

Coming out of the floo for the third time had Draco falling out, directly to the floor to vomit. The twisting, dizzy feeling was too much to handle that quickly. Harry slumped over after him, landing on top of Draco’s hunched over form. He hadn’t even needed to call for help before mediwitches and wizards were running to them.

Draco was still vomiting when Harry was taken away. A nice nurse spelled away the disgusting bile and helped him up by holding on to his elbow. “Let’s get you a nice potion for—“

“Harry. I need to go to—“ Stumbling, Draco took off in the direction they had taken the love of his life.

“Sir, only family is able to visit, especially at critical times like these. We don’t know when he’ll be awake and we can’t put that kind of stress on him right—“

Turning to the nurse talking to him, Draco was livid. “He doesn’t have any family! I am his auror partner! I watched him get cursed and I brought him here and I will— see him now.” His voice had started strong and indignant, but by the end had cracked and broken, his heart doing the same as he once more crumpled to the floor. What if Harry never woke up? What if he—

Lurching forward, Draco‘s stomach began heaving once more. The nurse picked him back up and led him off to a room where she sat him down and fed him three potions. “This first one is for nausea,” she explained, holding out a green liquid that looked like would only make him throw up more. He took it anyway. “This one is to lower your adrenaline levels.” It was yellow, but a light, daisy kind. Draco knocked it back. “And then this is a calming draught.” That Draco knew well and happily accepted.

“Now that you’ve calmed down a bit,” the nurse began. “Could you tell us any information about what happened that may help Mr. Potter?”

“No. I don’t know what curse hit him. I should have been paying more attention, it’s—“ Draco buried his head in his hands. He could feel the potions working, sure, but he still wasn’t calm. It was all his fault.

He felt a hand placed on his shoulder and he looked up. “It’s not your fault. We’re going to stabilize him and he should be out within a few days, alright?”

“When can I see him?” The nurse made a face. “When can I see him?” Draco repeated.

“Really, it’s only family allowed. I’m so sorry. Unless you can think of anything that—“

“Does it count that his godfather is my mother’s cousin?”

The nurse’s eyes lit up. “You know, I think I can gloss over that in the paperwork.”

“Thank you,” Draco whispered.

It was hours that Draco spent in the waiting room. Witches and wizards flowed in and out; Draco couldn’t even be bothered to take notice of the terrors and the fantastical horrors that walked past him. His mind just kept repeating those moments: Harry taking his arm to steady him then looking into his eyes, Harry leaning in just as Draco saw a flash of a shadow at the edge of his vision, Draco stupidly closing his eyes anyway because this was all he wanted when he should have shoved Harry off _he should have shoved Harry off_ maybe they wouldn’t be in this position, the way Harry’s face went wide-eyed and blank as he fell forward, stiff, the way his head lolled and his eyes rolled as he was set on the floor, watching them take him away.

It was all too much.

He was going to be sick again.

Eventually, a mediwitch came to get him. He was sitting in a chair, forearms on his thighs and staring at the patterns on the tile when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Blinking rapidly, he looked up and barely heard her voice as she told him he was allowed to see Harry now. That he was stable. In his daze, Draco was surprised his brain was still alert enough to realize she hadn’t said _awake_.

Following her down the hall, Draco felt tension building with every step. Should he do this? Would he be able to handle seeing Harry like this, knowing that it was his fault? That Draco could have saved him?

The second he saw Harry’s unconscious body, he had to lean on the wall for support. There was a hazy, blue glow around him from the magic used to stabilize him. It made the room feel cold in waves.

There was a chair set out for Draco next to where Harry lay. Lowering himself into it slowly, he didn’t take his eyes off of Harry’s face. His skin didn’t look alive. If it weren’t for the rising and falling of his chest—

Draco sat for hours by Harry’s beside and the sky outside became dark as evening rolled in. As he sat, his eyes tried to force themselves closed. The adrenaline of the day was all gone now and it left him feeling exhausted. His eyes would close and his head would begin tipping over before he would jerk it back up, Harry’s name at the ready on his tongue.

Once more, his eyes fell shut. Struggling to open them, they simply refused before closing again. His head tipped forward slowly before falling, causing him to sit straight once more and the first thought on his mind: “Harry.” Draco jerked awake saying his name before looking in front of him to see bright green eyes staring back at him.

Slowly, Harry smiled up at him. “Morning.”

Reaching out, Draco brushed a bit of Harry’s head off his forehead. “It’s actually evening. You’ve been out for hours. How are you feeling?”

Inhaling deep, Harry tried shifting before wincing and abandoning the effort. “Stiff. Very stiff. Like I got run over by a cargo truck.”

Draco didn’t know what a cargo truck was, but he got the jist. “Do you want me to see if any of the mediwitches can do anything for you?”

“No, no,” Harry opened his eyes once more. “I’m alright.” Draco watched as he swallowed thickly, once more wincing at the small movements.

Just watching the look of pain written across Harry’s face, Draco’s hand flew up  
to his mouth. He just couldn’t handle this.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he faced the floor. He couldn’t watch. He couldn’t watch.

Draco felt a hand reach out to touch him, awkwardly coming to lay on his head. Looking up, he took Harry’s hand, watching him breathe heavily from the effort. “Don’t cry,” Harry whispered.

He couldn’t force himself to meet Harry’s eyes as he spoke. “It was all my fault.” The words barely came out loud enough to reach Harry’s ears.

“It was my own fault. I wasn’t paying enough attention. Got distracted.” Then, he chuckled a little, cutting off as he winced.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to get—“

Harry made a small motion with his other hand. “I’m fine, Draco.” After a moment’s pause in which Harry took a slow breath, he spoke again with a lazy smile. “Hey, it is Thursday.”

That caused Draco to also smile. “It is Thursday. You’re right.” Holding Harry’s hand up, he gave a small kiss on the back of it. “They said you’ll be out in a couple of days. I’ll talk to Robbards. See what your minimum time’ll be.”

“Yeah, question about that.” Harry paused, taking another deep breath.

“Why don’t you ask later? I don’t want you to strain yourself.”

Again that small motion with his other hand. A ‘don’t worry about it.’ “Will you be assigned a temporary partner while I’m out?”

“I have no idea. Luckily, we’ve never had to go through this before.”

Harry squeezed his hand, but only barely. “I’ve no idea what I would do if the roles were reversed.”

Not knowing what to say to that, Draco let things fall silent.

“You should rest.” He pat Harry’s hand, moving it back to his side.

“Will you stay here?”

Draco met his eyes. “Of course.”

__________

_A Month Later_

How was it that they always ended up here? Thursday night, in some hotel, fucking like it was the only thing they had planned for the next week. Every Thursday.

Harry was lying flat on his back, hands fisted in the sheets as Draco arched his back and rode him, face thrown up towards the ceiling. It was beautiful. Draco was beautiful.

It wasn’t long before that was over and— instead of crawling up next to Harry, Draco rolled out of bed and began putting his clothes on.

Harry groaned. He had been hoping Draco would say fuck it and stay. They didn’t have to leave this room.

Half dressed, Draco made his way back to Harry. As Draco bent down to kiss him, Harry mumbled, “I knew you’d come crawling back to me. Ready for round two.”

Draco stopped short of a kiss. “Harry, you’re still having trouble walking. Now, get up and get dressed or we’re going to be late.” With a quick peck, Draco straightened up and walked to the mirror to fix his tie.

Groaning, Harry pulled himself to a sitting position and summoned his clothes. Draco threw him a look at that. “What? It’s not laziness. Didn’t you just say yourself that I’m having trouble walking still?”

“Yes, and the only way for you to get better is to practice. Now, get dressed. We’re going to be late.”

Harry threw up his hands in a question. His shirt was already half on. What more did Draco want? Harry shook his head. He was so difficult sometimes.

Eventually, Harry was all dressed and he walked— limped— to the door of the room where Draco was waiting. It was amusing: Draco may be good at not letting his feeling show on his face, but he had small flinches dancing across his eyebrows and cheeks each time it looked like Harry was about to fall. Yet, he refused to allow himself to offer Harry an arm or support unless Harry looked like he really needed it. Or, Merlin forbid, if Harry asked for help.

Over the last month, Harry had been fairly bedridden, only limping around his flat occasionally. Once a week, Draco would get him out of the flat to do other things. It just so happened that today was a Thursday and they had wandered past one of the first hotels they had hooked up at, and Harry knew exactly what he wanted.

But today was a big day. It was the first time Harry was going to go be with all his friends outside of his own flat since the accident.

Not to mention, the time when he would announce his dating Draco to all his friends. Which was probably the most nerve-racking part of it all.

They were all gathering for dinner at Ron and Hermione’s and Harry was feeling a little anxious at what everyone’s reactions would be. Ron, Hermione and Draco had been the only ones who had seen him since St. Mungo’s. He wondered how everyone would handle seeing him so weak and limping.

Also, the limping was seriously bothering him. Harry’s entire body felt constantly like it had been hit by some massive boulder, but the walking trouble was from how his right leg had twisted as they had fallen onto the ice. He was in constant pain from all of it and it made him exhausted. Luckily, Draco had been taking care of him.

They had just apparated to the doorstep of Ron and Hermione’s house when Harry glanced over at Draco again. Something was off. “Hey,” Harry reached out and took Draco’s hand. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Harry gave him a flat look. “I just— I haven’t seen most of these people since Hogwarts. A few since the war, so I’m a little...nervous about what they might think about—“

Harry squeezed his hand, cutting him off. “I love you. We had been circling each other for so long that I don’t even remember when it started. Needless to say, I’m done hiding you. I spent too many nights drinking and trying to talk myself out of calling, too many hours thinking about whether or not this feeling flows both ways. I’m not hiding any of it anymore.”

Draco smiled, willing himself not to cry. “I love you, too.” And they walked in hand-in-hand, greeted by warm cheers, smiles, and hugs. Looking at Harry, Draco sighed. Everything was going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Please feel free to leave a comment and/ or message me on [ tumblr ](https://www.shelvesuponshelves.tumblr.com)
> 
> I completely intended for this to be a like sexy kind of back and forth fic-- ya know, to do the song justice?? and then, well.... then I started writing so....here we are!
> 
> The drarry playlist is [ here ](https://open.spotify.com/user/jamesilver/playlist/1fIuJApIJzhm1snajKKmrm?si=-n08dDFGRZ6_1xCZlDbLug)
> 
> Also, feel free to leave any song recommendations for the playlist!! I will continue to write more fics based off of songs and they will be added into this series!! 
> 
> (also i do actually take song recs this one was a song rec please send them to me i love getting them)
> 
> I am also currently taking ficlet requests on [ tumblr ](https://www.shelvesuponshelves.tumblr.com)


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